


Young, Dumb and Suffering

by wordscorrupt



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Medical Inaccuracies, Parent Tony Stark, Sick Peter Parker, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:01:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22762891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordscorrupt/pseuds/wordscorrupt
Summary: In a moment of desperation, Peter decides to take Steve's pain medication to relieve a migraine.orPeter accidentally overdoses on pain medication.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 13
Kudos: 412





	Young, Dumb and Suffering

It was halfway through the school day and the minor headache from that morning had developed into a full-blown migraine. There was little that Peter could do to alleviate the steady, throbbing pain in his head other than to employ Ned to cover for him as he tried to rest his head on the desk during class. It worked for the most part until the fifth period, pre-calculus, where Peter and Ned were arranged on opposite sides of the classroom. 

“I apologize for boring you, Mister Parker. Perhaps you would like to take over this lesson instead,” Miss Williams, his math teacher, seethed as she hovered over his desk. 

Peter winced as he lifted his head up, trying to clear his vision. He opened his mouth to apologize but snapped it shut when he felt the familiar feeling of bile trying to crawl up his throat. 

Miss William huffed before marching back towards the front of the classroom, announcing, “Because it seems I am boring some students, perhaps I can liven up this classroom with a pop quiz. Clear your desk.” Groans and moans echoed throughout the classroom and Peter didn’t have to look to see that most of the students were glaring at him.

By some miracle, he managed to make it to the end of the day even though Ned was begging him to go to the school nurse. But the last thing he wanted was for May to have to leave work and come get him. He had faced worse and came out alive. The last bell of the day seemed to deliver electric shocks throughout his entire body but it at least signaled freedom from the hectic environment that only a high school could conjure up. 

When he finally slid into the backseat of Happy’s car, he wanted nothing more to curl up and cry. He tried to rest his eyes during the car ride upstate but the motion was causing nausea to build up and more than once he wanted to tell Happy to stop. Happy dropped him off and while the man had a concerned look in his eyes he didn’t say anything more than a goodbye as Peter walked towards the elevator.

Peter leaned against the side of the elevator, taking deep breaths. The elevator reached Mister Stark’s floor and he stumbled out, where F.R.I.D.A.Y. promptly greeted him.

“Good afternoon, Peter. I have been instructed to inform you that Tony is in a meeting with the rest of the Avengers but will be done soon. He reminds you not to leave your backpack by the door because - and I quote - ‘I’m not looking forward to breaking a hip one of these days from tripping over that damn thing again’. Furthermore, there is leftover lasagna from last night in case you are hungry until dinner time.” 

Even with the migraine wreaking havoc on his body he couldn’t help but smile before thanking F.R.I.D.A.Y. Even though his stomach had been gurgling since that morning where he had managed to swallow down half a banana and some toast, the thought of food at the moment was enough to make him gag. He walked past the kitchen as quickly as possible, one hand over his mouth and nose, making his way to his bedroom where he dropped off his backpack and toed his shoes off, leaving them both in the middle of the room. 

Against his better judgment, he didn’t immediately slip into bed. He knew his migraine would not get any better without some kind of pain medication. A few months ago Bruce had manufactured pain medication specifically suited for his metabolism and he had to imagine that Tony had it stocked up here, somewhere. 

His first stop was the medicine cabinet in Tony’s bathroom. But other than an assortment of personal items there was nothing with his name on it. He rummaged through the drawers and cabinets in the kitchen with no luck before remembering the first aid kit Tony had kept in one of the closets down the hallway. He found a pocket on the side with a variety of medication bottles, but none of which were his. He frowned, then saw a bottle of pain medication with Steve’s name written across it. 

Peter sighed, taking a deep breath. It was better than nothing at this point. He didn’t want to bother Tony during his meeting and he didn’t want to take a trip down to the medbay because they’d just call Tony anyways. He figured his metabolism was as fast if not faster than the star-spangled hero, therefore the medication would be suitable for him. 

He shook the bottle until two tablets dropped into his palm, the usual dose, before a shooting pain in his head had him doubling over. He whimpered, trying to take deep breaths as he righted himself. In a moment of desperation, he plucked another pill out the bottle and swallowed the three dry. He tucked the bottle back into the bag, placing it back into the closet before shuffling towards his room, not bothering to crawl underneath the covers as he fell into bed. 

~

Tony prepared for an assault the moment he stepped off the elevator. But rather than the appearance of a spider-kid exhibiting the eagerness of a golden retriever he found his penthouse empty. He frowned, glancing around.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., where’s Peter?” He asked as he entered the kitchen, wondering if the teen was just raiding his fridge as always but there was no sign of him. 

“Mister Parker is currently asleep in his bedroom, sir. Do you want me to wake him up?” 

Tony sighed in relief before quickly replying, “No, F.R.I.D.A.Y., let the kid sleep for now.” He leaned against the counter, crossing his arms for a second before starting to walk towards Peter’s room. It wasn’t unusual for Peter to take a nap after school, especially on a Friday where the stress of the past week weighed heavily. 

He opened the door carefully, peaking into the room. He smiled softly as his eyes landed on Peter who was curled up in the middle of his bed. He tiptoed in, approaching the bed and carefully slipped the covers from out underneath Peter and tucked it around him instead. He brushed a few stray curls from the kid’s face before turning around and walking back out, leaving him to rest. 

He tried to busy himself with mundane work as he waited for Peter to wake up. He didn’t want to start on any projects, saving those to work with Peter throughout the weekend. He was able to reply to four work emails before deciding he had enough and skimmed through Netflix trying to find something to watch. 

Thirty minutes later, he still had not settled on anything to watch when F.R.I.D.A.Y. spoke up. “Sir, Mister Parker’s vitals seem to be abnormal. His heart rate and breathing have decreased substantially over the past few minutes. I have notified the appropriate medical personnel. ETA two minutes.” 

Tony had no perception of time and space as one moment he was on the couch and the next he was standing by Peter’s bed. He could scarcely hear himself yelling the kid’s name over the sound of his heartbeat flooding his ears. He sat down on the side of the bed, sliding his arms underneath Peter’s back and lifting him up, only for the kid’s head to flop back, limp. 

“Peter! Peter, kiddo, wake up. Wake up!” He cried out, shaking the teen in his arms. But no reaction. Not even a whimper. He might as well have been dead in his arms and if it wasn’t for the shallow movement of Peter’s chest, Tony would have concluded just as such. 

“Come on, baby. Please, wake up for me,” Tony whispered, cradling Peter’s head against his chest, rocking him gently until a minute later someone was removing Peter from his arms. He instinctively tightened his hold on Peter until Bruce’s distinct voice was reassuring him. “You’ve got let him go, Tony. We’re here to help him.”

Peter was removed from his arms and he blinked, watching as one of the Medbay nurses settled Peter down on the stretcher, while another placed an oxygen mask over the teen’s face.

God, he was so pale. 

The medical personnel wasted no time in rushing Peter down to the Medbay and Tony raced alongside the stretcher, one hand grasping onto Peter’s. He refused to move from his kid’s side once they reached the exam room until Steve suddenly appeared alongside him, gently pulling him back. “Let them work, Tony,” He spoke solemnly, keeping a sturdy hand on Tony’s shoulder. 

Tony was forced to look on from the corner of the room as the doctors and nurses worked on his kid. Cutting off his clothes, strapping him with a variety of monitors, inserting IVs into each arm, and drawing blood, amongst other things. But the second he saw Peter’s eyes fluttering, he escaped from Steve’s hold and rushed over, pushing his way to Peter’s side until he was leaning over and gently stroking his hair. 

“Peter, kiddo, open your eyes,” He urged and a moment later Peter blinked his eyes open. Tony let out a wet laugh, pressing a tender kiss to the teen’s forehead before someone was pulling him back again. 

The kid whimpered, holding an arm out for him before crying out as one of the doctors shined a bright light into his eyes. Then suddenly Peter coughed and gagged and they barely managed to get him onto his side before he vomited onto the floor. One of the nurses wiped his mouth clean before they rolled him back and lifted the head of the bed to prevent Peter from choking the next time he had to throw up.

“Peter, have you taken any medication?” Bruce asked, kneeling down next to the bed until he was eye level with Peter. 

“Hmm,” Peter moaned, squirming around a bit. 

“Peter, look at me. You have all the signs and symptoms of an overdose. What did you take? You need to tell us so we can help you.” Bruce spoke sternly at the same time Tony’s eyes widened as his blood went cold at the information. He could hear Steve take in a sharp breath. 

Peter whimpered, tears running down his cheeks before crying out for Tony. This time no one stopped the man as he rushed over. 

“I’m right here, baby,” Tony reassured as he took a seat on the side of the bed, leaning in close and smoothing Peter’s hair back. “You have to answer Bruce’s question, kiddo. Did you take anything, hmm? Even on accident? They need to know.” 

The teen’s bottom lip trembled as he looked down at his chest, whispering, “Dumb. ‘m so dumb.” 

Tony lifted his chin up gently, wiping away at some of his tears with his thumb. “No, you’re not, kiddo. Never.” 

Peter sniffled, taking a shaky breath before explaining the events that led to this moment. There was a sudden rush of commotion from the doctors and nurses as they devised a new plan of treatment based on the new information. 

The next few hours were nothing short of a living nightmare for Tony. Starting out with having to watch doctors force a thin tube down Peter’s nose, into his esophagus and down into his stomach to pump out the contents. Peter had sobbed and begged Tony to make them stop and the man could only reassure the kid that it was almost over. Afterward, Peter received a cocktail of medications to help reverse the rest of the effects of the overdose and now, hours later the teen was curled up on the bed, arms wrapped around his sore stomach and shivering under a layer of thick blankets. 

Tony was talking to Bruce in the corner of the room and once Bruce left he approached Peter, taking a seat on the chair next to his bed. 

“Are you gonna yell at me now?” Peter spoke quietly, barely peeking out from underneath his mound of blankets. 

Tony sighed, dragging his chair closer to bed and reached over, brushing his fingers through Peter’s hair. Truly, he wanted nothing more to shake the kid into oblivion for being so God damn stupid. But that would only succeed in making both him and Peter feel worse when the boy had already been tortured enough. 

“No,” Tony answered briskly, shaking his head, “I think we can both agree that’s the last thing either one of us needs tonight.” 

“I understand if you did. I’d deserve it,” Peter murmured. 

Tony scoffed, continuing to stroke Peter’s curls, hoping it would lull the kid to sleep. “The only thing you deserve right now is some rest, kiddo.” He tucked the blankets in tighter around Peter. 

“Are you gonna yell at me after I wake up?” Peter asked once Tony sat back down. 

Tony huffed, “No. Quite frankly my heart rate still hasn’t returned back to normal and it probably never will. I’ll probably have a heart attack the next time I start yelling.” He got back up from his chair to lean over and press a kiss to Peter’s head. “But, rest assured, kiddo, there will be one exceptionally livid aunt ready to tear you a new one when you wake up in the morning.”


End file.
